Michael Carrera scored 13 points and pulled down seven rebounds for South Carolina (5-6), while Mindaugas Kacinas scored 11 and both Sindarius Thornwell and Demetrius Henry each contributed eight.

Quincy Diggs was the only Zips (6-5) player with double-digit points in the loss, as the senior scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds.

Akron quickly jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, but South Carolina erased the deficit with back-to-back 3-pointers. Williams hit three shots from beyond the arc in the first half, as his Gamecocks went into the half up 30-24.

South Carolina erupted out of the gates in the second half, going on a 17-1 run early on and pushing ahead by as many as 36 points in the final 20 minutes.

South Carolina held the Zips to 32.5 percent shooting from the field and forced Akron to commit 21 turnovers. The Gamecocks finished the game shooting 44.4 percent.